Fitting In
by jessighka
Summary: Maria De Luca was just an average girl who just wanted to fit in. What she didn't know was that she would find a place among the popular group at school.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything, but I own my computer that I am writing this on…..

Dear Journal,

When in high school, I wouldn't call myself a dork, but I didn't have many friends. Let me change that, I didn't have any friends at all. I wasn't a loser, I was a nobody. The differences between the two are very simple. When you are a loser, you have some friends, and some people know who you are. But if you are a nobody, you have no friends, and no one knows who you are. Sometimes I use to wish I was a loser instead of a nobody. But that's how my life is.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Maria Rose DeLuca. I am a 16 year old girl who lives in the alien capital of the world, Roswell, New Mexico. I am 5'4' with blond hair, green eyes, and big lips. My body is average, not to much detail on that. I am the only child to the parents of Amy and Bryan DeLuca. My mom owns her own alien shop, and my dad is a doctor. We live in the good part of town, have a nice size house. Enough about the house let me tell you about the "group".

The "group" is a group of kids that rule Roswell High. The "group" consist of seven teens. The names of the seven are Max and Isabel Evans, Michael and Tess Guerin, Liz Parker, Alex Whitman, and Kyle Valenti. Tess and Liz are the only two out of the seven that are the same age as me. Max and Isabel are twins and Michael is Tess's older brother. He is only a year older then Tess. Max and Liz are dating and Michael is Max's best friend. Tess and Kyle along with Isabel and Alex are also dating. Michael doesn't really date, he just "hooks up."

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be friends with them. I have always envied Isabel and Tess for the way that their blond hair always seemed clean and perfect. I have envied Liz for her book smarts, and Alex for his talent in music. I have never envied Max, Michael, or Kyle. I have had a crush on Michael since 5th grade, and I know that he doesn't feel the same way towards me.

In school, everyone stays out of their way. But at the same time, everyone wants to be apart of the "group."

After school everyday, I help my mom out at her shop. I only work at her shop for two hours a day during the week and I work all day on Saturdays. Since I don't have any friends, I don't go out and party on the weekends. So every Friday night, my homework is done, so I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend.

I just wish I was like everyone else in school. I wish I had friends, a boyfriend, or parties to go to on the weekends. Maybe one day my wish will come true. Well I have to go and help my mom with dinner. This is nice having something to put my feelings and thoughts into. I really have to go now. Bye!!

Love,

Maria

With that, Maria closed her journal and hid it up on the top shelf of her closet. She closed the door and then headed downstairs to help her mother with dinner.

"Mom," Maria asked once she was in the kitchen, "have you ever wished that you had a different life?"

"No, why would I. If I had a different life, then I wouldn't have you or the love of your father" Amy said to her daughter.

"Okay mom, I love you too," Maria said.

"Go set the table, dinner is almost ready," Amy told Maria.

Maria went around the kitchen, getting everything that she needed to set the table. Once she was done setting the table, dinner was ready for them to eat. After dinner was done, Maria excused herself and went upstairs. She was getting her stuff together for the next day. The next day was Monday, and that meant that she was going to get paired up with someone new in biology.


	2. Chapter 2

-1The next morning came to fast for Maria's liking. Her alarm woke her up at 6 that morning, so she could get ready for the day. When she got out of bed, she went to the bathroom to start her morning rituals.

Once she was done getting ready, Maria headed downstairs to have breakfast and to head to school.

"Morning Maria, did you sleep well?" Bryan asked.

"Morning daddy and yes I did. Did you?" responded Maria.

"Yes, well I better be going to the office now. I'll see you tonight at dinner. I love you and have a great day at school." With that Bryan was already out the door before Maria could respond. When her father left, Maria headed to the kitchen to have her breakfast. After eating and cleaning up her breakfast, Maria headed out the door and started her walk to school.

On her walk to school, she kept thinking about who could be her new partner in biology class. She also wondered what new project her teacher had in store for her and her class. Maria also ran through the check list that she had stored in her head. She double checked all of her classes and made sure that she had finished all of her homework. Satisfied that she did, she continued her walk to school with a smile on her face.

When Maria reached the school, she walked up the steps and headed straight to her locker. Once she reached her locker, she put away all of her stuff and got her biology book and binder together. She was then on her way to her first class, biology. As she took her seat and got ready to take notes, she noticed Tess and Liz walking in and taking their seats in front of her. Every day they would take their seats in front of Maria and they would never give her a second glance. After the girls took their seats, the teacher, Mrs. Gill, started the class.

"Today we will be starting our new projects, and you all will be getting new partners for it," Mrs. Gill told the class.

"I want all of you to collect your things and move to the front of the class. I will then call two names you will then go to the table that I assign you to. Are there any questions?" Mrs. Gill asked her class. When nobody raised their hands, she told them to get up from their seats. They all got up from the seats and moved to the front of the classroom.

"Okay, let's get started. I want Liz Parker and Shane Nemo to sit in the front right here. Next I want John Grant and Dori Fin to sit at the table behind them," Mrs. Gill instructed. This continued on for about another two minutes before the teacher got to Maria's name.

"Now I want Maria DeLuca and Tess Guerin to sit at the table in the back corner. Once everyone has taken their seats I will start talking to you about your new projects and what I want done," Mrs. Gill instructed once again to her class. The class then took their new seats with their new lab partners. As the teacher started talking about their projects, Tess thought that it would be a good idea to introduce herself to her new partner.

"Hi, my name is Tess. What is your name? Are you new, cause I have never seen you before," Tess asked Maria.

"I know who you are. No I am not new. My name is Maria," she answered back quietly.

"Really? Then why haven't I ever seen you before. I know who everyone is in this class and in this school," Tess shot back at Maria.

"Yes really. I have been going to the same school as you since we were five years old. The reason as to why you haven't seen me before is because I like to keep to myself. And you really can't see someone if you have never really taking the time to see them," Maria told Tess a little bit louder this time. Tess looked a little taken back at the things Maria just said to her. Sure she had never really taken the time to get to know the people besides her brother and their friends. But it wasn't her fault that she is the way that she is. Okay maybe it was some of her fault, but that didn't make her a bad person. Or did it?

As Tess continued to think to herself, Maria took this time to go over what the teacher had handed out to them. She was reading over what she had to get done for her to get an "A" on her project. As she was readying, she didn't notice that Tess was now staring at her.

"I'm sorry," Tess told Maria softly.

Startled, Maria looked up at Tess. "Huh? What do you have to be sorry for?" Maria asked Tess.

"I'm sorry that I have never taking the time to know you. I'm sorry that you feel as though no one sees you," Tess told Maria, still softly.

"It's not you fault that you or anyone else don't see me. I just like being in the background. That way if I mess up no one will notice. It's okay really," Maria kind of lied to Tess. She didn't want Tess to know why she didn't stand out. She didn't want Tess to know that she didn't have any friends.

Before Tess could respond the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Maria hurriedly gathered her things and left the class in record time. Tess was still sitting at her table when Liz came up to her.

"Hey Tess. Are you coming to our next class?" Liz asked Tess.

"What? Yeah sure, just give me a minute to get my stuff together," Tess told Liz. With that said, Liz left Tess and the classroom. Tess couldn't get the look of sadness in Maria's eyes out of her head. She wondered why Maria told her all of that, and she was also wondering why Maria would want to blend into the background. Why would anyone want to blend into the background? Tess wondered it Maria had any friends that Tess knew. She would just have to find out who Maria hung out with.

Later that day, Tess walked with her best friend, Isabel, to lunch.

"Hey, Isabel, do you know who Maria DeLuca hangs out with," Tess asked.

"Hun, who is Maria DeLuca? If you tell me who she is, then maybe I can tell you who she hangs out with," Isabel answered back.

"She is my new biology lab partner. She has been going to school with us since I was five. She is in the same grade as I am," Tess said.

"I'm sorry; I have no idea who she is. Why don't you ask your brother? He knows about every girl at this school," Isabel joked.

"Ewww, don't joke around about my brother's sex life. And besides, I don't think that Maria is that kind of girl," she told Isabel.

"Who is that kind of girl? Who are we talking about today ladies?" Michael asked coming up from behind them. Before Tess could answer her brother, Isabel beat her to it.

"Maria DeLuca. Do you know who she is?" Isabel asked him.

"Maria DeLuca, Maria DeLuca. Hmmmm. Nope. Never heard of her before. Is she new?" he answered back.

"No Michael, she is not new. She is my new lab partner in biology. I was just asking Isabel if she knew who Maria hung out with," Tess told Michael.

"I get it little sis, no need to rip me a new one. I was just asking what and who you were talking about," Michael said to his little sister. With that Tess and Isabel walked away from Michael to find a table to eat their lunch at.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Dear Journal,

Over the last couple of weeks, Tess and I have become some sort of friends. We talk when we are in biology and working on our projects. We have even worked on our projects outside of the biology lab. Most of the time it is at my house, when we work on our project. She told me that she wants to take me shopping next Saturday. This will be my first Saturday away from my mom's shop. Speaking my mom, she is so excited about my upcoming shopping trip, that she gave me her best credit card and told me to spend as much as I wanted to. Well I got to go. Bye!

Love,

Maria

Just like Maria said, she and Tess were becoming fast friends. Tess was enjoying Maria's company and couldn't wait for their shopping trip. She even got Isabel to come with them on their shopping trip. When she had told Maria that Isabel wanted to some, Maria's first reaction was not to go. She told Tess that she didn't have to go with her if she would rather go with Isabel. Tess then told her that Isabel wanted to hang out with Maria. And it was true; Isabel did want to hang out with Maria. She wanted to get to know the girl who her best friend was always talking about. So it was settled. The three of them would all sleep over at Tess's on Friday night and then go shopping on Saturday.

Friday couldn't have come any faster for Maria. It seemed that the week was dragging for the three girls. They were all excited for the same thing and yet for different reasons as well. Maria was excited because this was her first ever sleepover and shopping trip that wasn't with family. Tess and Isabel were both excited because they get to go shopping. Tess was hoping that after this weekend Maria and Isabel would become friends. She really wanted Maria to be her friend and this was the first test.

During biology tests was telling Maria all about what was going to happen that night.

"It's going to be so great. After school, Isabel can drive us to your house so you can get all your stuff. Then we will go to her house so she can get all of her junk. After her house, we will then proceed to the store to buy all the junk food that we want and ice cream. We will then go to the movie store to rent all the Brad Pitt movies. Then it is back to my house for the fun," Tess told Maria.

"That sounds good. Do you know who else is hot besides Brad Pitt?" Maria asked Tess.

"No, who?" Tess asked back.

"Ben Affleck. He is a real cutie. Don't you agree?" Maria answered.

"Yes he is. Isabel is going to love you more because of that little fun fact," Tess said. Tess then continued to break down the evening plans.

When the final bell of the day rung, the girls went to meet at Tess's locker as planned. Tess and Isabel were waiting at Tess's locker for Maria. Maria had to stop at her own locker first. Once she was done getting her stuff together, she headed to Tess's locker.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to stop at my locker first," Maria said once she got to the waiting girls.

"It's okay. I would like you to meet Isabel Evans. Isabel Evans this is Maria DeLuca," Tess introduced to the girls.

"It's finally nice to meet you, Maria. Tess talks about you nonstop. I'm excited about getting to know you this weekend," Isabel told Maria. Maria blushed at what Isabel said. She then said the same to Isabel. Tess shut her locker and they all headed to the parking lot. After reaching the parking lot, they got into Isabel's 2005 mustang. Isabel then pulled out of the parking lot and followed Maria's directions to her house.

After getting both Maria's and Isabel's things, the junk food, and the movies, they headed to Tess's house. When they got there, Tess gave Maria the tour of her house. After the tour the girls settled in the living room to work on their homework.

It was about five o'clock when they got done with their homework. As they were putting away their books, they front door opened and in walked Michael.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Tess you didn't tell me it was girls night," Michael teased Tess.

"Shut up Michael. By the way this is Maria DeLuca. Maria this is my dumb brother Michael," Tess said.

"Nice to meet you Maria. Isabel, hi how are you? And don't worry your pretty little head off Tess, I'm staying over at Alex's for the night," Michael said. Throughout the entire conversation, Maria had been quiet. She couldn't believe that Michael had said her name. Michael then headed upstairs to his room to get his things for the night.

"So girls, what should we do first? Facials, movies," Tess asked looking at the other two girls in the room.

"Why don't you decide Maria," Isabel suggested with a smile on her face.

"Umm, Okay. How about we watch a movie while we do our facials," Maria offered.

"That's a great idea. Let's order the pizza before we start doing anything," suggested Isabel. Tess then went into the kitchen to order the pizza. With Tess in the kitchen ordering the pizza, Maria and Isabel were setting up for the facials and movies.

"Are you having fun so far Maria," Isabel asked.

"Yes. This has been the best night that I have had in a long time," Maria offered to Isabel honestly.

"Well I'm glad that you are having a good time. I'm so glad that we are getting the chance to get to know each other. I really want us to be the best of friends. You seem like a very cool person and I like cool people," Isabel told Maria with a real smile on her face.

Maria, also with a smile on her face said, "I hope we can be friends too. Thank you for wanting the chance to get to know me." Before Isabel or Maria could say anything else, Tess came back into the room.

"The pizza should be here in about 50 minutes. Let's get this party started. Which movie should we put in first? _Oceans Eleven_ or _Pearl Harbor_," Tess said, giving them the choice to pick. At the same time, both of the girls yelled out _Oceans Eleven_. Tess, laughing at the two, got up and put the movie in.

While they were watching the movie, Michael snuck out the back door so he wouldn't bother them. During the first 30 minutes of the movie, the girls had each put on a facial mask and put their hair up. About 20 minutes later the pizza came. Tess paid for the pizza, and for the rest of the night they just had fun.

Early the next morning, all three girls got up to have breakfast. After breakfast, all of the girls got ready for the big day of shopping. Each of the girls had picked out an outfit for another one of the girls. Like Tess picked out Isabel's outfit, Isabel then picked out Maria's clothing, and Maria got to chose what Tess was going to wear. Tess chooses a red halter top with a denim mini skirt with matching red flip-flops. Red was Isabel's favorite color. Isabel chooses a light olive green tank top and a pair of low-rise, hip-hugging dark wash jeans and a pair of black boots. Isabel wasn't sure how daring Maria would be in a short skirt. Maria decided that Tess would look good in a bright blue v-neck short sleeved shirt and a black knee-length skirt with black pumps. They all got dressed, did their makeup and hair, and then headed to the mall.

When they reached the mall, they decided to go shopping at Victoria Secrets first. Isabel had told the girls that they needed to get matching cute and sexy panties and bras. They all had decided to get the same set, but in different colors. Isabel chose a red matching bra and pantie set. Tess went with a dark blue color, and Maria decided on a dark forest green color. They then went shopping for everything else that they needed from the store.

Once they were done shopping at Victoria Secrets, they decided to go to the Burberry store. Maria decided to get one outfit with a purse and matching wallet. She wasn't going to feel guilty for spending her parents' money. They were the ones that told her to buy everything and anything that she wanted. And she wanted a Burberry purse with the matching wallet. Tess had decided to get another purse in the same color that she already had so she could use the same wallet. Isabel got a pair of shoes and a scarf that matched her purse.

After Burberry, they went to a couple more stores before they got hungry. Deciding where they were going to eat, the girls went in search of a table. Once they were seated, they then decided on what stores to go to next. After eating, the girls headed to Wet Seal, and the other stores that they had decided on. All three of them got a couple of outfits from each of the stores. The last store that they went to was M.A.C. Make-up to get new makeup for Monday. They headed home when they were done at the mall. All three girls had about 15 bags each. They had a good shopping trip by their standards.


	4. Chapter 4

-1Monday morning rolled around and Maria was a little nervous about showing up to school in her new look. She had decided the night before to wear a pair of low-rise, boot cut jeans, with a solid black shirt that stopped at the top of her pants. She then decided to wear her black and white _Chuck Taylors_. Her make-up was natural and her hair was down and straight. Her outfit wasn't much of a change, but it showed a little bit more skin then usual.

Her mother and father had already left for work, so they didn't get a chance to see Maria all dolled up and she was kind of thankful for that.

Isabel had told Maria that she was would pick her up for school that morning. Isabel was going to drive, pick up Tess, and then pick up Maria. Maria had about ten minutes before they would be there so she went over her homework while she waited. She was about half-way through checking her math, when she heard a car horn. Looking out the window, she saw that it was Isabel and Tess. She put away her homework and headed to the door.

"Maria, you look hot," Isabel said when she saw Maria got in the car.

"Yeah, Maria, you are so going to knock all of the boys off of their feet at school," Tess said with a huge smile on her face.

Embarrassed, Maria said, "Thanks guys, but you don't have to say that."

"But we want to, cause it's true," Isabel said. With that said, the girls headed to school.

Pulling into her usual parking spot, Isabel noticed that the boys and Liz were waiting for them. Maria also saw them and was starting to get nervous. She didn't know if Tess and Isabel would talk to her once they were outside of the jeep. Getting out of the car, Isabel asked Maria if she would be joining them for lunch. Maria said she would, but that she might be a little late. Maria was shocked that she had easily agreed, but she was starting to warm up to the girls. All three of the girls walked up to the guys and Liz.

"Guys, I would like for you to meet Maria DeLuca. Maria this is Max Evans, Alex Whitman, Kyle Valenti, Liz Parker and you already met Michael this weekend," Tess said to the group and Maria.

Everyone said hello and Kyle Valenti started asking Maria questions.

"So when did you move here, Maria?"

"I've lived here my whole life."

Kyle shook his head in disbelief. "No, there is no way you have lived here your whole life. I know all the hot girls in school and I don't know you."

"You'll have to excuse Kyle, he was born without any manners," Max said with a soft smile. "It's nice to meet you, Maria."

"Yeah," said Alex. "Now you can come see my band sometime. We're getting pretty popular. Well, not really but if you came to a show that would mean we would have seven people there instead of six."

"I'll try to make it sometime," Maria replied. Thankfully the bell rang before Alex could try and rope her into a definite date to see the band.

Once the bell was done ringing, everyone headed to his or her lockers and first class of the day. As Liz was walking to her locker, she couldn't help but to wonder if Tess and Isabel had replaced her with Maria DeLuca. She knew that they had taken Maria shopping over the weekend and that they had a girls' weekend without her. She would just have to figure out what Tess and Isabel were up to. Even during Biology Tess sat with Maria instead of with her. The project was over and yet Tess still sat with Maria. Liz just couldn't understand it.

Lunch came faster than Maria would have liked. She had wished for this for a long time, a group of people to sit with, but now she was nervous. She wasn't nervous to be around Isabel and Tess, it was just everyone else that made her nervous. What if they didn't like her? Sure they were nice to her when they met her, but they could just have been playing the nice card for Isabel and Tess's sake.

As she made her way to the cafeteria, she was so busy in her own thoughts; she didn't notice that Michael was walking with her.

"Hey Maria, what are you thinking about," he asked and smirked when he saw her jump a little.

Still a bit dazed and shocked, Maria answered, "Oh hey Michael. You kind of scared me. I'm not really thinking about anything."

"Really? You just seemed deep in thought," Michael said.

"Oh. I was just thinking about some of my homework," said Maria.

"Sounds exciting. I'm going to grab some food. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm just going to sit down." Maria said as they reached the table.

"Suit yourself. I'll see you in a few." Michael said as he haphazardly threw his stuff in a chair and headed for the lunch line.

Maria sat down and started work on some of her homework as she waited for the others to arrive. While Michael was in line, Tess, Kyle, Isabel, and Alex showed up at the table. Tess sat across the table from Maria, while Isabel chose to sit next to Maria. Alex noticed Michael's stuff in a chair the table and asked, "Hey, where did Michael go?"

"Oh, he went to go get him something to eat," Maria answered.

"Well, I'm going to learn from Michael and get something to eat. Anyone want anything while I'm up there?" Kyle asked, standing up.

"I want a diet soda, and French fries," Isabel told Kyle, while getting out her money.

Tess was looking up at Kyle with her best smile and asked, "Baby, could you get me and Maria both some water and French fries. Please?"

"You don't have to get me anything. I'm not that hungry," Maria said to Kyle in a rush.

Tess looked at Kyle and then smiled at Maria before saying, "Don't listen to her Kyle. Please don't worry about it Maria. You're my friend and I want to buy you lunch. Next time you can buy."

"She's the boss," Kyle said with a wink at Tess. "I always do what she says. Whitman, let's leave the ladies to chat."

"But I wanted to tell Maria some more about my band," Alex protested. He quickly changed his mind when he said Isabel give him the 'one more word about your band and I will kill you' look and dutifully followed Kyle.

The guys hadn't been gone for more then a minute, before Michael came back. Michael had his lunch with him, but he also had a salad with him as well. He sat the salad down in front of Maria and said, "I thought you might like something to eat."

"Thank you. That was really nice of you," Maria said to Michael.

Michael sat down at the end of the table and said, "No problem at all."

"Hey Michael, have you seen Max or Liz?" Isabel asked.

Putting down his fork he answered, "No. Max said he had to talk to one of his teachers and would skip lunch. But I haven't seen Liz since before school."

"Okay. Thank you," Isabel said.

Kyle and Alex came back to the table and handed everyone their food. Hearing Isabel say 'Manolos', they quickly retreated to the other end of the table where Michael was sitting. Kyle was feeling slightly unmanly for knowing what Manolos were so he quickly started in on what he considered a manly subject: his newest video game.

While everyone was talking, they failed to notice that Liz had come to the table. When she dropped her books on the tabletop, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Liz.

Tess was the first one to say anything. "Where have you been all morning? I have been looking for you."

Liz responded with, "Really? What for?"

"I just wanted to ask you something, but now I forgot what it was," Tess said. With that said, Tess continued on with her conversation that she was having with Isabel and Maria.

No one had paid to much attention to the fact that there were only six chairs at the table. Liz was the only one to notice, because she was the one to pull up an extra chair. As she sat down, the bell rang signaling that lunch was over. Walking to class, Liz realized that she was alone, and she was fine with that. Walking alone gave Liz time to think about what has been going on for the past couple of weeks. Liz noticed that over the last two weeks, she had been feeling jealous over something, but she couldn't figure out what. She started to think about what was new in the lives of her friends, and only one thing stuck out: Maria DeLuca. She noticed that her two best friends were starting to replace her with Maria. That's what she was thinking anyways, and she didn't know if it was true or not. She wasn't going to ask, cause then she would look like an insecure freak, and she hated to look bad, even if it was with her friends. Liz would just have to wait and see if her gut feelings were true or not. She would just have to pay more attention to the way that her friends acted and to see if they treated her any different. She just hoped that her feelings were wrong, but she had a feeling that they weren't, and she would have to do something about it.


	5. Chapter 5

-1A week later, Maria was once again over at Tess's house, but this time, she was getting ready for her first party. She couldn't understand why she had agreed to go to this party in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that both Tess and Isabel bombarded her with requests that she go to the party. They even got the guys in their conquest to get Maria to go, when she had first declined the offer. Having the two of them plus the four guys asking, she couldn't say no again. So here she was, getting all dolled up for a party, and she had no idea what it was for. She was so excited to be going to her first party, but she was also nervous as well. She didn't know how she was to act. Was she supposed to act uninterested at the party? Or was she supposed to look like she was having a great time? She had no idea and she didn't want to ask the girls, in fear that they would laugh. So she decided to act both at different times.

The girls were all in Tess's room, going through her closet trying to decide on what to wear. So far Isabel had decided on a short black skirt and now she was on a mission on what top to wear. Maria was going to wear a pair of low cut jeans with a white halter top, she was now having trouble deciding on the shoes that would look best. Tess was the only one out of the three to be fully dressed. She had decided on a white skirt and a black backless top, save the two strings that tied it together, and a pair of black strappy sandal heels. She had decided to wear light makeup and wear her hair straight and down. She was in the process of helping out both Maria and Isabel get ready. Both of the girls had their hair and makeup done, but were just a mess. Tess grabbed a pair of white flip-flop heels for Maria and she decided that Isabel would look best in crimson tank top. Handing both of the items that were in her hands to the girls, she headed out to the living room to see if the guys were ready to leave. Walking down the stairs, she noticed that no one was in the living room, but she heard something in the kitchen. As she walked into the kitchen, she saw her brother and her boyfriend already eating, and Max and Alex talking and laughing at Michael and Kyle.

"Hey you guys. Are you ready to go?" Tess asked the guys.

"Yeah, just let me finish the slice of pizza and we can go. Are the girls ready yet?" Michael asked his sister.

"They are just finishing up as we speak. Hey Liz, why didn't you get ready for the party with us?" Tess asked Liz when she noticed that she was sitting at the table.

"Oh, I had some stuff to do at home for my mom, so I thought that it would be easier if I got ready at home," Liz lied to Tess. She didn't want Tess to know the real reason why she didn't want to get ready at her house, because Maria was going to be there. So she lied, instead of showing her true feelings about Maria and the fact that she was being replaced.

Before Tess or anyone else could say anything, both Maria and Isabel came down the stairs dressed ready to go. Looking up at the girls, all of the guys held their breath upon seeing such beauties. Liz looked on with jealousy eating away at her. She kept thinking that they should all be looking at her like that, not Maria. Tess seeing the two girls, who were mere moments ago locked up in her room half-dressed, she walked up to them so that they could talk.

"You guys look great. And it only took you, oh I don't know, two hours to get fully dressed and ready to go," Tess said, but with a joking smile on her face when she said the last part.

"Isabel, you really do look great. And Maria, you look beautiful as well," Max said looking at both his sister and their new friend.

Twirling around Isabel said, "Of course I do. If it wasn't for Tess, I would still be a mess trying to find the perfect top."

Blushing, Maria said, "Thank you Max."

Before anyone else could say anything more, Isabel instructed that everyone should head out to the cars. They had decided that they would take two cars to the party, so that if one or more persons wanted to leave early, they could without taking the others with them. Tess was going to have Kyle drive her SUV and have Max drive his jeep over to the party, so that there would be 4 people in each of the cars. Isabel took it upon herself to decide who was going to go in what car. In Tess's SUV, Isabel, Tess, Maria, and of course Kyle, who was driving, and in Max's jeep, Max, Michael, Alex and Liz. Liz was hurt when she heard that she was going to be riding with the guys. She thought for sure that she was going to ride with her best friends.

With Kyle driving, Tess hoped in the front seat, while Isabel and Maria jumped in the back. Rolling down the windows, the three girls could be seen dancing to the very loud music. Liz was seating the front seat of Max's jeep with a frown on her face. She was mad that not only her best friends were leaving her out, but her boyfriend was even nice to the outsider.

The girls were already out of the car and dancing before Kyle could the car turned off. Maria wasn't dancing crazy like the other two were, but she was dancing and you could tell that she was having a good time too. When the others pulled up, Michael couldn't keep his eyes off of the girl who had brought a freshness to the group that was never there. Getting out of the cars, everyone met up in front of the SUV and decided what they should do if the party got boring. They decided that if one or more persons got bored at the party, or were too drunk to do anything, they would leave. With that said, the group went into the party to have a good time.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**: Sorry for the delay guys. I have been having a hard time a work, working two different positions, and having people trying to bring me down with their negativity. I have decided to keep my head up and not let me get it down. So here you guys go.

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It had been a month since the party, and Maria truly believed that she had a great group of friends. She knew that Liz did not like her very much, and she couldn't figure out why Liz did not like her. For Maria, her mission was to figure out why Liz did not like her, and to become her friend. Her parents always taught her to be the bigger person and to befriend the person who was giving her the grief.

And since this month had passed, Maria had also developed a little crush on Michael. She did not want to tell anyone, for fear of him finding out, and also a fear of Tess finding out. She did not want to mess up her friendship up with Tess for a crush on her friends' brother. She could honestly say that Isabel and Tess were her two best friends. They did everything together, and they were always together. Her parents also became very fond of the two girls who had become their daughter's best friends.

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry for not writing anything in about a month, but this month has been the best month of my life. Tess and Isabel have become my best friends, and I would not trade them for anything in the entire world. The guys are also my friends and I just love them to death. I do not know why Liz does not like me, but I am going to try to get her to like me. I want to be her friend, and I have tried everything that I can think of, and yet she still does not like me. It is starting to bother me, but I will not show her what she is doing to me. I have also developed a little crush on Michael Guerin, but I am too afraid to do anything. I'm worried that he will not like me back, but I am also worried that it could ruin my friendship with Tess. And we both know that I do not want to do that. So for now I will keep it to myself, and hopefully it will pass. Only time can tell. Well I have to go and do my homework now.

Love Maria.

The next day, Maria woke up to a knocking on her door. Before she had a chance to react, Tess and Isabel both burst through the door with so much energy. Maria was normally an energetic person, but the both of them had far too much energy first thing in the morning. After that thought, Maria racked her brain to figure out what they were both doing there so early in the morning. It was a Saturday and they did not have any plans, well that she could remember anyways.

"What are you guys doing here at 7 am on a Saturday morning?" Maria asked of her two best friends.

"We are going to the mall, and buy all three of us new swimming suits." Tess responded back.

Maria shook her head and got up for the day. Seeing that Maria was getting ready, Tess and Isabel made their ways downstairs into her kitchen to see what her mother was making them for breakfast. While they were downstairs, Maria was trying to decide on what to wear to the mall. She noticed that both of her friends were wearing skirts, so she decided to go with the classic skinny jeans, and white tank top, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors. Walking down the stairs, Maria could see that her mother loved her new friends, and was treating them as if they were her own daughters.

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Let me know what you guys think. Sorry that it is so short.


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